Mallya meets aviation secretary on Kingfisher revival

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Last Updated: Tue, Oct 30, 2012 10:40 hrs

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya Tuesday met Civil Aviation Secretary K.N. Srivastava and briefed him on the steps the company is taking to revive the operations of the passenger carrier ahead of putting forth a formal plan to the aviation regulator.

"I have briefed him (Srivastava) on the revival plan. It would be a comprehensive plan," Mallya told reporters after the meeting.

Kingfisher has been grounded since Oct 1 when it declared a lock-out.

Mallya hoped that all hurdles to restarting the airline will be crossed.

The meeting took place as the airline prepared to submit a revival plan to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for regaining its flying licence which was suspended in the wake of the 25-day-long strike ans subsequent lockout at the carrier.

According to official sources, Mallya was asked about the airline's plan to pay off its massive debts to airport operators and oil companies and pending salaries to its own employees.

The airline has a total debt of Rs.7,000 crore from 11 banks.

It has been asked by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to pay back dues worth Rs.290 crore, or cease operations at Chennai and Kolkata airports. Other airport operators may follow suit, including oil companies and other vendors.

The airline has been asked to prepare a revival plan and present it to the DGCA, which will take a final call on revoking the airline's operations licence.

Even Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had earlier said that the decision to allow Kingfisher to fly again will depend on the airline's revival plan.

The top management of the airline had earlier said it expected the carrier to be fully operational by next month, subject to the scrutiny of the aviation regulator.